BELGRADE, 9 January 2018 (Beta) - Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic sent on Jan. 9 a letter of congratulations to the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb entity's government and people celebrating the Day of Republika Srpska, wishing them resilience and longevity. "On behalf of the citizens of Serbia and for myself, I congratulate you, the government and people of Republika Srpska on the Day of Republika Srpska, confident that you have the will and endurance to ensure its prosperity and well-being, while maintaining peace and stability in Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina alike," the Office of the Serbian President quoted Vucic as saying in the letter. The Serbian president promised that Serbia would always be by Republika Srpska's side, offering sincere and generous support, and fostering economic and unbreakable cultural and spiritual ties. "I wish you every success in your work, and to Republika Srpska I wish resilience and longevity," the Serbian president said.

BELGRADE, 9 January 2018 (Beta) - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik said on the Day of Republika Srpska that it should fight for its acquired rights, aiming for the broadest independence possible." Our goal is to achieve the highest degree of independence for Republika Srpska, and it's what we are aiming for, a legitimate political goal. On the other hand, Bosnia and Herzegovina, more precisely, Bosniaks together with foreigners, want to make it a highly centralized and unitary state, and the two concepts are impossible to reconcile," Dodik said in a Jan. 9 morning interview with the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation (RTS). Dodik said that today's Republika Srpska was an unquestionably "permanent category for the Serbian people," and that the people living in the entity articulated the ideas of freedom-loving and freedom that many had dreamt about. "We need to fight for our acquired rights, and we need to cut the thread of winning the wars only to lose them at the green table. It is at the green table that we want to win and keep our rights," President Dodik said. He said that ever since its inception Republika Srpska had faced serious challenges - from the day the Dayton accords were signed to date - and that he thought that the people's love for Republika Srpska was the greatest value, which would help it survive all the challenges. The president added that Republika Srpska had developed excellent cooperation and understanding with Serbia, and that there hadn't been any political pressure that might be described as arrogant or cynical.

BRNABIC SAYS IN INTERVIEW WITH ECONOMIST THAT 2018 IS THE YEAR FOR FINDING A SOLUTION FOR KOSOVO AND METOHIJA

BELGRADE, 9 January 2018 (Beta) - Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has said in a radio interview with The Economist that 2018 is a year in which a lasting solution for Kosovo and Metohija could be found. "What we are doing now is looking for a lasting solution, so as not to leave a frozen conflict for those who will come afterward. We have a historic chance to find a sustainable solution. If we do not use this chance in 2018 we will not have another one for decades to come," Brnabic said in the interview, which was posted on The Economist's website. Asked about the freedom of the media in Serbia, Brnabic replied that she did not know how the freedom of the media had become an issue, while when asked whether there was pressure on the media the prime minister answered that "I am absolutely sure" that there was none. Asked about the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia she said that she did not think that it had brought justice to the former Yugoslav republics or helped reconciliation. She denied that there had been a genocide in Srebrenica, but called it a heinous crime nonetheless and added that she was ashamed of the image that had been created about Serbs and Serbia based on that. "Let us please look to the future and leave this behind us. New generations are coming, we have a lot in common. My grandfather was a Croat and he is not a Serb from Croatia, he is a Croat from the island of Krk. I spent my childhood there, I have many friends there, we have many similarities," Brnabic said. Asked if she would like Yugoslavia to exist again, Brnabic replied: "No."